Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (63 years old, Thuong Tin commune, Hanoi City) is currently working as a security guard at a construction site, with an income of about 7 million VND/month.
Old age, work outside the construction site is sunny and windy, erratic rainy and sunny weather makes Mr. Hung even more vất vả. However, because the job helps to have income to cover living expenses, and working near home, Mr. Hung is still attached.
At this age, my health is no longer as good as before, working outside the construction site is quite hard on sunny and rainy days, but as long as I have health, I still try to work. The job both brings income for me to accumulate more for my wife and I when we are old and sick, and also helps me to be active regularly, not sitting in one place," Mr. Hung shared.
Also according to Mr. Hung, the income of about 7 million VND/month is not high, but because he works near home, on days when he does not have to be on duty at the construction site, he can cycle home to his wife, without spending money on renting a room or eating out.
Thus, the actual amount of money I save each month is more than 5 million VND. If I choose a job far from my salary, it may be more than 9 million VND/month, but after deducting rent and living expenses, there is not much left," Mr. Hung calculated.
Ms. Tran Thi Huong, 58 years old, from Mai Chau commune (Phu Tho province) is currently working as a sanitation worker, serving at a construction site, with an income of about 8 million VND/month. Ms. Huong's job is to closely follow each group of workers assigned, picking up scrap, sacks, screws... to dump in the right place.
“It sounds simple, but because I stick to the work hours of workers, I am no different from working in shifts. Not to mention, I have to be sharp-eyed and careful during the cleaning process to ensure safety for workers working,” Ms. Huong shared.
Ms. Huong added that if her health allows, she still wants to continue working. In addition to having additional income, the job also helps her be more proactive in life because she has savings for old age. In her hometown, if she only does gardening, she only has enough to eat and no savings.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, said that the increase in the elderly labor force in the informal service sector clearly reflects the current social security gap. Most workers in this group go through the process of working young in the informal sector, do not participate in social insurance (BHXH), so they do not have pensions. When entering the age of over 50, they do not have long-term financial accumulation, and are forced to continue selling their labor to cover their own expenses and have some accumulation for old age.
Ms. Huong assessed that this group faces many risks such as reduced health but high labor intensity, lack of legal protection and vulnerability to income.
From that reality, Ms. Huong gave some fundamental policy recommendations.
First, diversify the social security mechanism for the elderly. It is necessary to expand the coverage of the social assistance system, and at the same time gradually reduce the age for enjoying social pension benefits for people without pensions to create a minimum social security foundation.
Second, flexible voluntary social insurance policies. Designing flexible short-term and long-term insurance packages with contribution levels, helping young freelancers easily accumulate early, avoiding repeating the "old and weak still have to make a living" loop of previous generations.
Third, standardize working conditions. Local authorities and management agencies need to strengthen inspections and require establishments employing elderly workers (such as security companies and sanitation services) to strictly implement regulations on labor safety and fully equip themselves with protective equipment.
